To the End of the World and Back - With You
by Kire-no-Koibito
Summary: A kidnapping, for you to realize your feelings for the kidnapped, A sea of their sweet tears tears to hold them dear, Stopping them from death to be with them forever, Two bodies merging in a loving embrace as a proof of the eternal love.
1. Mixed Feelings and Brotherly Love

To Alvin, Jude's new friend was a sort of a mystery. He didn't talk much, only when asked to and never shown any emotion that Alvin would consider real. Ludgers little companion however, was no mystery at all. At first everyone thought the little girl is cute because she acted all shy, but oh boy were they wrong. Elle was a troublemaker at her finest, always wanting something, never content with the situation. She always found something that dissatisfied her and that high-pitched complaining soon got onto the ex-mercenary's nerves. However, Ludger was the one leading the adventure and since Ludger tolerated the little prick, he just as well might do so too.

Or so he thought. The closer he got to the agent however, the more he noticed that he never really smiled. Sure, he forced up a few smiles when anyone mentioned that he should cook or comb Elle's hair, but Alvin soon noticed how much the situation bothered the young Kresnik. He couldn't blame the man though, he got debts of 20 million Gald, his brother was a wanted criminal, the Spirius Corporation chiefs told him that the entry exam was manipulated so it was impossible for him to get in...and now this girl had shown up demanding from Ludger to take her to Canaan. The whole pressure put onto the younger Kresnik together with that little pest bothering him every spare second led to the lack of emotion that Ludger has shown. Alvin understood the situation and yet, he wanted the agent to smile. At least once, he wanted to make his new friend show his real emotions.

That all were thoughts that Alvin had as he stood on the balcony the night after Julius was arrested. He recently took up the habit of just standing at the balcony and reflecting upon his choices and his actions, but recently his thoughts were all about Ludger. He knew that feeling. He started to feel more than friendship for the lean agent with his turquoise puppy eyes...just like back when he travelled with Jude. It seemed that he had a weakness for do-gooders with cute faces for it took him a year to overcome his feelings for the young doctor and finally be able to speak with him without flirting. And oh, how it hurt that Jude was only speaking of Milla. It was so obvious that Jude loved her and it hurt Alvin that the brunette chose him as his wingman. It was cruel of Jude to ask him for dating tips, but what could the ex-mercenary do? He wanted Jude to be happy.

He wondered if Ludger would be the same..then again, unlike Jude, Ludger was completely hiding his feelings, so maybe it would take longer for him to understand the young agent. There was only one thing he did know about the silverette for sure. That was that his brother Julius meant the world for him if not even more.

Just as he was about to go back into Balan's room where he stayed that night, he noticed Elle sitting on the swing. Just a moment later he saw Ludger running out of the apartment complex next to where he was at. A closer look at the agent's face revealed that he was indeed worried. Alvin decided to eavesdrop on the conversation the two had. He quickly made his way downstairs and hid behind the bush. From there he could hear every single word.

"You know..Without me, your power is pretty worthless.", Elle said with a somewhat bored expression.

It was a shame that Alvin couldn't see Ludger's face because the reply sounded slightly annoyed, which was unusual for the silver-haired male.

"So what?", Ludger replied bluntly, crossing his arms. This action caused the little girl to stand up and become louder.

"I think that makes us partners!", she giggled. "So. Will you accompany me to Canaan?"

A sigh escaped the man and he shook his head. "Do I have any other choice?"

"Don't be such a sore loser!", the little girl huffed and put her hands to her hips.

After that, the girl stole the agent's pocket watch and hung it around her neck. "You don't mind me holding it, right? We're partners now, after all."

The ex-mercenary sighed a tad too loud at that and immediately caught his breath and froze as noticed that the agent was already about to turn into his direction. Elle made him pinky-swear that he would bring her to Canaan, making him forget about checking on the source of the sigh. At least one thing she did right, Alvin thought, letting the door to his apartment complex slam shut audibly as he walked closer to the two.

"Oh? Hey, Ludger. And hello young lady. Are you going for a midnight stroll?", he asked as if he didn't hear or see anything of the previous. Elle nodded, Ludger shook his head. The reaction made the salesman shake his head and snort. "So what now?"

The agent spoke first. "I thought of depositing a payment to Nova and then go to sleep. I need some rest after fighting Rideaux.." With that said, Ludger slightly bowed to indicate that he was leaving. Before Elle could bother him, Alvin looked at her with a stern look.

"What do you say, little lady...care to take a walk with me? Rollo and Ludger need some alone time, you understand?", he asked in a more quiet voice, earning a reluctant nod from the girl and calling out to Ludger. "I'll bring Elle home later on, so don't lock the door, alright?"

The agent turned around and nodded before continuing his walk home. The silverette agreed easier than he thought, but who was he to complain? He needed to make sure Elle stopped being a little prick. And he knew that fear would be the best way to teach her, so he took the girl's hand and made his way to the Torbalan Highroad. Even at night, there would be enough monsters to come and get Elle.

As they arrived, he pushed the girl against the mountain, his facial expression changing. It changed to the expression he had when he was just about to kill Jude a year ago.

"Listen to me before you ask any questions, you annoying thing. I will now give you two options. One of them will get you to the land of Canaan while the other one will get you killed."

He could see that Elle tried to find any hints that he was joking, but his hazel eyes looked dead serious...

While Alvin was busy with making Elle understand that she had the choice of either changing for the good (which meant considering Ludger's feelings some more and not being egoistic) or ending up as a snack for the monsters, Ludger himself had been paid a visit right after he had paid the part of his debt that restricted him from continuing his mission. After the silverette ended the call with Nova, the door of his apartment opened. He got up from the couch to come and greet Elle, but was surprised by his brother standing in the doorway and holding his swords, ready to strike.

All Ludger could do was stare at his brother in shock with his turquoise eyes wide open, so Julius was the one who started the conversation.

"Ludger...", he started off, sounding more desperate than ever. "Ludger...please, forgive me."

The younger Kresnik took a step back and wanted to unsheathe his swords just to find them missing. Of course...he was in his pyjamas already, after all. And his watch was with Elle...he had no means of protecting himself as he was, so he carefully stepped back to make his way into his bedroom. There he could grab his blades and try to defend himself..

"Julius. Brother...why are you here?", he asked to distract the taller male and sneak out unnoticed. "Shouldn't you be..."

"Imprisoned?", the blonde finished and stepped closer to his brother, seeing the usually bright eyes darken with sadness. "It's not your fault. You tried to protect me, but I'm glad you didn't manage to do so, Rideaux would have killed you otherwise.", he paused and quickly approached his brother, standing behind him in a blink of an eye due to the younger Kresnik's mind being hazed by guilt. Before Ludger could even turn around, the cold metal of Julius' blade was already pressed up against his throat, contradicting what the taller of the two said next.

"Now it's my turn to protect you...", he said, after which he struck his younger brother on the back of his head, knocking him out. He threw Ludger's GHS into the dustbin before carrying the silverette out, glad that nobody was on the streets so late in the night but a few merchants. He quickly made his way to the Labari Hollow in Rieze-Maxia to hide with Ludger in one of the former laboratory sectors after defeating all the monsters lurking there. He set Ludger down onto the ground and tore down an old cloth from the wall to cover him with. He thought that he would need to go out and buy some things to eat, but he didn't want Ludger to be alone. Besides, if he left his brother alone, the silver-haired male would panic and run away. So, that was out of question. Just as he was about to give up, he heard a soft mewl.

"You are just what we needed.", he spoke to the cat, checking his collar. His name seemed to be Mao. Just like Rollo, he seemed to understand. "Would you go to Xian Du and see what you can find, Mao?", he asked, earning another mewl before the cat ran off.

Julius would give everything to keep his brother away from Origin's trial, so he didn't regret his actions one bit. He sat beside his brother and pulled him close to prevent him from freezing. "Good thing it's still summer...", he murmured and waited for the cat to return from his dispatch mission. He almost dozed off too, but a soft mewl tore him from his drowsy state and caused a soft smile to appear on the blonde's face.

The cat has brought some veggies and a tuna, which Julius carefully stowed away in the coolest part of their small shelter. He was thankful for the shelves to have remained standing so many years after the lab was shut down since he could put all the things the cat brought onto them after cleaning them from dust.

While all that happened, Alvin and Elle have long returned to Ludger's apartment. Since all the lights were out, Elle just assumed that Ludger went to sleep.

"Alright, young lady. Don't cause Ludger trouble from now on and don't tell anyone about our conversation. You have to promise.", he said with a satisfied grin. He managed to get Elle to understand that he worried about Ludger, so she didn't hate him. But oh boy did it take time. It was way past 4 am when they finally made it to the apartment.

Elle nodded tiredly. "Promise."

Just as Alvin was about to leave, she pulled his sleeve and shook his head. "Hey. A promise isn't a promise if you don't pinky-swear on it. That's what my daddy told me.", she reminded the salesman and he kneed down before her so that they could link their pinkies and Elle could promise again that she would be nicer.

After that, both went to sleep, Elle was sleeping on the couch in the living room since Julius' room was locked and she didn't want to wake Ludger up by crawling into his bed. Rollo jumped up and laid down on her belly so she wasn't cold for the night, anyway.

She woke up at 12 pm next day, which wasn't usual for her and there was still no sign of Ludger. She knew that she promised Alvin to be more considerate of Ludger's feelings and his needs, so she waited an hour longer before Rollo started to scratch on the door of Ludger's room. She couldn't just ignore the needs of the little fluffy cat, so she went into the agents room and hummed happily.

"Rise and shine, Ludger~", she called out just to be met with silence. She looked around and saw that the blue shirt that the silver-haired male usually wore was hanging on the chair, just as the rest of his clothing. The dual swords laid on the desk next to his pistols. Her gaze wandered to the bed just to find it empty and untouched too.

Panic rose inside of her and the girl quickly dashed out to seek out any of the other group members, bumping into Jude and Alvin who were talking about their last year at the Trigleph marketplace.

"Good morning, little lady.", Alvin greeted with a smile.

Jude smiled at the girl as well, but before he could greet her or ask her what's wrong, the blonde stared up at him with glassy eyes and it took her everything not to cry. "Has any of you seen Ludger? He's not at home."

"Not at home?", Alvin echoed, staring at the girl in disbelief. But in order of not causing panic, he hummed. "I'll try calling his GHS. Maybe he was called in by Spirius?"

"Without his clothes? Would he go to Spirius in pyjamas and most importantly without me?", the girl was lost. "He didn't even take his weapons with him.."

Jude and Alvin exchanged looks before nodding. Jude then smiled soothingly and patted the girl's head. "We'll get the others and then we'll go look for clues."

"Good plan. I'll fetch Elize, Milla, Rowen and Leia, you two go on ahead to Ludger's apartment." Alvin tried not to sound as worried as he was. Ludger was with them just 12 hours ago. That meant he must have disappeared sometime after he went back to his apartment...He turned around and raised a hand to bid the two goodbye. "See you in around 30 minutes."

The agent woke up to a familiar tune being hummed next to him. The hymn of proof...Julius had always hummed it when he was scared or hurt and it always calmed him down. He wanted to reach out and cling to his brother's shirt, just to find his hands bound. Instantly his eyes shot open and his breath hitched. There was nobody beside them in the cave...that meant... "Julius...", he called out in a desperate tone, interrupting the melodic hum. He watched the blue eyes meet his turquoise ones and he could tell that his brother knew what he was about to ask.

"I'm sorry Ludger. I was afraid you'd run away if I just left you untied. Promise that you'll stay?", he looked at his brother with a sad look and it broke the younger Kresnik's heart, forcing him to nod. "I'm so sorry, Ludger.", Julius repeated and undid the knots just to have his brother clinging to his shirt. The shorter of the two shook his head and let his gaze wander towards the shelves.

"I see you have brought us some food. I'll try to make a fire and cook for us...it will be really hard though..." He could use Julius' sword to pierce the tuna with and roast it on the blade... but what to do with the veggies? He frowned as he was lost in his thought, only looking up again when his brother made a small amused hum.

Julius was smiling again. Ludger's actions were just so irrational. But that was the reason why he loved his baby brother after all. "Seriously, Ludger...you haven't changed one bit ever since we were kids. You don't even want to know why I brought you here? You're such an airhead."

The younger Kresnik smiled back brightly and shook his head. It was nice to have Julius so close after all what happened. "Not until we have eaten something. I'm starving."

Back in Elympios, Alvin has quickly gathered the crew since all except the fractured Milla were more than willing to help. The four of them met up with Jude and Elle at Ludger's apartment and started looking around for any signs of battle, but didn't find anything.

"Will Milla come?", Jude asked as he was checking the desk.

Alvin shook his head. "Negative. She said that it may be for the better that he's gone. But I can't blame her. He destroyed her world, after all."

Jude just nodded and sighed as he found no clues on the desk. Rowen has checked the bedroom and Leia and Elize looked around in the bathroom, just in case. Everyone stopped searching when a way too familiar ringtone resounded through the room. It was muffled, but it was definitely in the living room. Elle pointed to the dustbin. "I think it's coming from there!"

Jude quickly reached into the bin and pulled out Ludger's GHS from under a pile of trash. "Gross...well, here goes nothing." He accepted the call and boosted the volume so everyone in the room could hear that.

"DODA, Vera here. We need to inform you that former director Kresnik has escaped with the waymarker. Your priority should be to assist us in the capture of the fugitive and to retrieve the stolen waymarker.", the woman explained.

Alvin reacted quickly and did his best imitation of Ludger's soft voice, since nobody except him had the appropriate pitch of the voice. "Understood. Where can I find him?"

The Spirius employee seemed to buy that imitation or at least not care about it sounding slightly off. "His location is currently unknown, but he was last spotted in Aladhi sea haven, carrying some person towards the Aladhi Trail. Confirm the person's identity upon finding Julius Kresnik and try to prevent that person's death. Yet, I remind you, your priority is retrieving the waymarker. Good luck, agent.", Vera said before hanging up.

Elle gasped. "Glasses guy is back?"

Jude nodded. "And it seems we have found out where Ludger is. Good job, Alvin.", the brunette smiled and looked at the group "I would say we know where to head next. However, we'll need to be careful not to be spotted by the Spirius corporation. After all, Ludger wouldn't want us to lead the enemy straight to his brother, right?"

Everyone seemed to agree, so after restocking on apple and orange gels they all went to Marksburg to take a ship to Rieze-Maxia. At least they had something to go on with...

The two Kresniks have managed to find a stone plate and made a makeshift oven after which Ludger proceeded to roast the meal. "Hmm... This will probably be the blandest meal I ever cooked...", he chuckled and used Julius' blade to cut the vegetables and the fish, glad that the onions would at least give the fish a bit of taste. As he cut the onion though, he started crying from the way it stung in his eyes. "I hate onions.."

The taller one chuckled and hugged his brother. "It's been a while since I've seen you cry, Ludger."

Last time the silverette cried was the time they walked in the woods and the younger had hurt his ankle. Wondering if the hymn of proof also worked against onions, Julius leaned in and softly hummed the melody into Ludger's ear, chasing a small shiver down the shorter male's spine.

"You're so sensitive, Ludger.", Julius teased, earning an elbow strike to his stomach. It wasn't strong enough to hurt him, but made him shut up about his sensitivity. Brothers shouldn't talk about such stuff anyway. Not in such a husky voice like Julius'.

Despite everything, Ludger stopped crying and even grinned a little. The older Kresnik wondered if he would always be able to calm his younger brother down with his melodic hum and a hug. He was watching as the silverette distributed the onions onto the fish so that it could soak up some flavour. He also picked some herbs that he put onto the fish as well, making it smell pretty good despite how bland it would be without spices such as salt, pepper and oregano, which Ludger usually used for fish. He then roasted the potatoes carefully and cut the carrots into thin slices.

"You really should've opened a restaurant, Ludger.", Julius seemed impressed by his younger brother's skills to cook meals that smelled that great with this little ingredients. The younger one took the hint and lowered his eyes. He thought his brother would be proud of him for following in his footsteps, but right then he wasn't aware of the dangers of Origin's trial, of course.

"The meal is ready, but it will need to cool down before we eat..", he tried to change the topic as he cleaned his brother's sword from the dirt and vegetable juice that stuck to it. "Why did you bring me here, Julius? There is a reason you kidnapped me like this, isn't there?"

The blond was silent for a moment before sighing. "I need you to forget everything about Origin's trial. And I will also ask you to hand Elle over to me. You know that she's the true Key of Kresnik, don't you?"

Just as Ludger was about to protest, Julius put his index finger to his brother's lips and turned his head, looking over his shoulder cautiously, like a wild animal ready to pounce. "Someone's here. I feel eyes watching us. You should head back inside. Hurry.", he said and his brother complied. He wasn't done talking to Julius yet, but due to whoever was pursuing them it had to wait. The older Kresnik still stood outside and took in his surroundings, trying to find the person watching them only to find a Spirius agent, whom he easily took down with his swords before he headed back to Ludger. He made sure to clean the blood off of the blades beforehand, since he didn't want to scare his precious brother.

"Ludger? You can come out now. It was just a monster I sensed. We should eat now." Julius was very much used to lying from all the years he spent with Spirius corporation. He silently returned to their little stove, holding his biceps area. It hurt a lot for a while now due to his body slowly becoming a catalyst. Noticing that, Ludger hurried after his brother and held his left hand with his own, looking up at him with big, turquoise eyes like a begging puppy. The taller one was sure he was close to whimpering like one too.

"Don't worry, Ludger, I'm fine.", he reassured and quickly withdrew his hand, doing his best to hide the pain. He knew he shouldn't be so kind to his brother since it would hurt to part from him even more when his time to become a catalyst would come. He frowned at this thought and sat down. "You should really stop worrying so much about me. Worry more about yourself instead and leave Origin to your big brother."

"Please don't treat me like a child. I want to help you, you shouldn't take that burden on yourself alone.." Julius' left hand was cold, but Ludger wasn't sure if it was just the leather glove that gave off the cold or if it was really different from his right hand which wasn't covered by a glove. He sat down beside Julius and took his right hand into his hands then. "Warm..."

A sigh left the blond's lips and his eyes turned colder than he would liked to. "You're really touchy today, aren't you..?" he didn't want Ludger to find out his secret just yet. His left arm was almost completely black by then. He needed to hurry if he wanted to create a world where Ludger could live safely. "After we have eaten, we should head to the Xian Du so you'll be safe. I'll wait for Elle with you."

The silver-haired male didn't answer. He simply started eating the bland meal he had cooked. Thanks to the stone being hot, the food was still warm even after all the events. He was slightly hurt by the way his brother was talking to him, but he didn't let it show. It wasn't like he wasn't used to Julius being like that. He didn't eat much since the things Julius said about handing Elle and his watch over were still nagging at him. He waited until Julius would eat the rest, looking up to the sky as he did. Even at times like this, when brother went against brother and the whole world was close to it's destruction, the sky was blue and the clouds continued roaming that vast blue space without any worries.

As he looked up he saw Alvin and Jude standing at the entrance of the hollow, pointing down at the small campfire. Both, Julius and himself have remained hidden since they sat close to the wall, but nonetheless, Ludger was now even more worried. He was so caught up in his worries that he didn't notice Julius standing behind him until it was too late and his mouth and nose were covered by a leather clad hand. The older Kresnik was a professional assassin, so he knew exactly how to make Ludger pass out without having to hit him again. He watched the turquoise eyes widen in disbelief and felt his younger brother struggle to get free, but in pure physical strength, Julius was more superior to him. The struggle attempts got weaker and weaker until with a muffled cry, the slender body fell limp, Ludger falling unconscious.

"Forgive me, Ludger. But it's just to protect you..", the taller one whispered before carrying Ludger up and towards the only exit. The run-in with his friends was unavoidable at this point, so he'd just have to either outrun or outsmart them. He quickly made his way back up which proved to be quite the task with an unconscious Ludger on his shoulder. It didn't take long until Alvin saw the two and rushed over to block Julius' way together with Jude.

Alvin frowned as he saw Ludger's limp form hanging over his brother's shoulder. He had already taken out his gun, but Jude stopped him.

"We shouldn't fight. Ludger wouldn't want us to.", he reminded the ex-mercenary. "Julius. Why did you do this? I am sure Ludger wouldn't rat you out to Spirius anyway."

Alvin nodded. "Besides, was it really necessary to have him unconscious? He's your little brother for crying out loud!"

"I want Ludger to forget Origin's trial, Chronos and the fractured dimensions. If he will continue down that path, he will break. He set the limp body down on the ground gently and pulled up his left sleeve, showing the black skin, the catalyst transformation eating away at his skin and flesh. "That happens to all Chromatus users. If Ludger will continue working for Bisley, he will die.", the blond explained with a frown and took Ludger back up. "Yet, to complete the trial myself, I will need Elle."

"Elle?", Jude and Alvin asked in unison. They couldn't muster to say anything else since the shock of seeing the catalyst transformation still was big.

Julius just shook his head. "I don't want to reveal all the details right now. Spirius might still be spying on us." He noticed the world map sticking out of his brother's pyjama pants pocket. "Well then. I want you to bring Elle to me. I don't want to blackmail you, but I need to see my brother's resolve. If he really can continue walking on after seeing gruesome things and probably even get hurt in the progress, I shall leave him be. I have told Ludger what I want, it is up to him now if he wants to have a peaceful life with you or probably die while completing Origin's trial." He distracted the two by talking while he quickly moved his hand to take out the map and used it to get to Kijara Sea Falls. Ludger fell down onto the ground unceremoniously as his brother disappeared.

"Ludger!", Jude called out and hurried to the silverette's side, checking all his vital signs and using some healing artes to help the agent regain consciousness. Alvin was also worried, but since he couldn't help his friend and secret crush as much as Jude did, he decided to at least help by thinking about what the older Kresnik had said.

"So if Ludger keeps using the Chromatus, he will die?", he dwelled on that one thought. He didn't like that outcome one bit, he wanted Ludger to live and maybe one day even return his feelings. He didn't put too much hope in the latter since his first love died by falling off a cliff, his second love was oblivious to how he felt since he only had eyes for Milla at that moment...and Ludger..well, Ludger never talked much to him, so it was hard to tell what he thought of their relationship.

A weak groan interrupted his thoughts and he looked down at the agent with both, worry and happiness in his eyes. "Ludger, are you-"

Just as he wanted to ask Ludger about his well-being, the familiar ringtone sounded, indicating that Ludger's GHS had rang.

The agent smiled slightly and reached his hand out to Alvin. "I believe I should get that one. It would be suspicious if I didn't answer Vera."

The merchant handed the phone back to its rightful owner and shook his head in disapproval. Spirius would run Ludger ragged one day, he was sure of it.

"DODA Vera here. Vice-President Rideaux has arrived at Aladhi Seahaven, please meet up with him and follow his instructions regarding former director Kresnik's pursuit."

Without waiting for Ludger's reply, the woman hung up and the agent allowed himself to let out a heartily sigh. "Thank you two for worrying about me.", he said and stood up. Alvin just nodded in acknowledgement and took out his own GHS to text the other party members that they should meet up at Aladhi asap. "Well then. We should probably go to Trigleph first. Your weapons are still there, right?"

Jude shook his head. "Milla has Ludger's clothes and weapons. She's waiting for us at Aladhi Sea haven already."

The ex-mercenary whistled playfully. "So, you managed to convince her to cooperate? Is there something going on between the two of you?" He just wanted to brighten up the mood with that teasing and seemingly it worked since Ludger's face softened and a small breathed chuckle tore from his lips.

Ashamed for laughing at that, he looked up at Jude and instantly turned red. The young scientist was blushing too but shook his head. "Hey, that might be Milla, but it's not our Milla. Don't forget that."

Ludger hummed curiously. He meant no harm, but he was curious about Jude's relationship to the 'real Milla'. "Is it different for you and 'your' Milla?"

The question was completely innocent, a pure act of curiosity, but Alvin took it the wrong way and grinned. "See, even he knows that you and the prime Milla are an item..."

Jude blushed even redder and shook his head. "It'll never work out, anyway." Realizing he said that aloud, he started flailing his hands around and stuttered "It-it's not l-like I want that to h-happen or anything! Milla is the Lord of Spirits, after all!"

Ludger put his hand on Jude's arm and looked up at him apologetically. "Sorry Jude.", he said sincerely, earning a small smile from the younger one. The young scientist changed the topic rather quickly and handed Ludger a small flask. "You should drink this potion. It will keep the monsters away from you until we reach Xian Du and meet up with Rowen And Gaius."

"Right. I'm pretty defenceless without the armor and my weapons.", he rubbed the back of his head shyly and took the small flask from Jude, quickly drinking all of its contents.

Alvin smirked and decided it was time to tease the agent for a change. "Don't worry, I'd protect you if you'd get in trouble. A good gentleman saves the damsel in distress, doesn't he?"

The silverette almost choked on his drink, only being saved by the fact his choking reflex kicked in after he finished drinking. He coughed a few times before looking up at the merchant with big eyes. "D-Damsel?" Despite his protesting tone, his pale cheeks took on a rosy color and he quickly looked away to hide his blush.

Jude cleared his throat in a manner that caught the older male's attention and proceeded right after he put his gauntlets back onto his fists. "We should make haste. Rideaux is waiting for us."

Immediately snapping out of his thoughts, Ludger nodded eagerly and straightened up. "Yeah. We gotta search for Julius quickly!" He was really eager to find his brother again. His usually calm eyes were full of longing and of course the ex-mercenary noticed that. He was slightly hurt that Ludger never shown anything of that sort to him despite the fact that they always linked up during battles and spent a lot of time together overall...then again, he remembered that he never approached the agent on his own accord. Ludger was mostly the one helping him, not the other way around.

He quickly turned around and sighed dramatically. "I was just waiting for you both. But alright then. Let's go. Don't fall behind." He turned his head slightly to give his signature wink before slowly walking towards the Royal Hunting Grounds.


	2. Breaking point

It was all happening too quickly after they met Muzét and recovered the waymarker from Julius. The death of the fractured Milla, the order to go after the last waymarker...the last waymarker being Ludger's fractured self and Elle's father. All the things crushed the agent with their weight, but the silverette never faltered. He continued pushing forward despite the depressed state he was in, he faked smiles so his friends wouldn't worry and he often invited everyone for dinner to distract himself from gloomy thoughts. That was, until he was about to go and save Elle from Bisley and read the letter his brother had written about the way to get to Canaan. His whole world seemed to be slowly crumbling around him, like a destroyed fractured dimension. There was no way he could kill Julius, no way in hell. And what made it even worse was the fact that all his friends have left him alone to his thoughts as they set off to 'Talk to Julius', as they said. Good thing Nova came around to uncover that blunt lie.

"Ludger...your friends were talking weird stuff about building a soul bridge without you or something...", she shook her head, not understanding what was up. Thus, the shocked expression the current vice president of Spirius had shown surprised her a lot and the way he dashed away to catch the next train to Marksburg even more so.

_Let me make a prediction for you. You'll regret leaving this place for the rest of your life._

Rideaux' last words echoed in his mind on repeat. "Damn it...", he cursed as he ran as quickly as his feet would carry him, accidentally running into a few other passengers. He didn't even have the time to apologize to any of the people he ran into, all of his mind was set on Julius.

_Please be safe Julius. Please, please, please. Julius, __**brother...be safe. **_

He mentally called out to the older Kresnik as he rushed over to the Rieze-Haven in Marksburg. He saw Gaius bring down his huge sword to take his brother's life the instant he arrived and he immediately jumped in between, blocking the sword with his arm. He got a deep cut, but at least he saved his beloved older brother. "What were you thinking, lying to me like that? You wanted to 'talk' to Julius, didn't you?"

He was panting, partially from his rage, partially because he was running the whole way at the maximum speed his body would allow.

Jude and Alvin looked down in shame, Milla groaned, Gaius and Rowen were frowning and the other three remained silent. Inner Muzét was ashamed however, he clearly heard the voice in his head. "Oh no! I am such a terrible friend...I hope he doesn't hate me! I really didn't want it to happen!"

Elize quickly rushed over and treated his wound, whispering quiet apologies. She knew they were being unfair to Ludger..She knew that building a bridge to Canaan without him would mean that the agent never saw his brother's last smile, never heard his last words. She felt really terrible for almost doing that.

Julius looked up after his brother's arm was healed, confused by what just happened. He sighed and shook his head. "Ludger. I wanted it that way..it's either you or me. I know you don't have the guts to kill me, so step aside."

The blond wanted his brother to hate him. He wanted him to be angry at him, not at his friends..that way it would hurt him less to part from him, right? He wanted his brother to live, to find love and to fulfil his dream of opening a restaurant. Ludger would make so many people happy with his cooking, his kindness, his smile and the fact that he would pass Origin's trial.

"Julius.", the silverette only managed to say as he kneeled down to his brother and placed a hand on the taller male's cheek. "Isn't there any other way? Does it have to be one of us?", he was desperate. He loved his brother. His brother was the reason he kept going. His brother was the only part he had left of the thing called family, the last mental support he had, preventing him from breaking down.

The older of the two brothers shook his head and gave in, speaking in a gentle voice. "Ludger. Please, don't let your life go to waste for me. And don't waste the sparse remains of my life."

Before the younger Kresnik could ask what that was about, Julius pulled off his glove and showed Ludger the fact that he was about to become a catalyst. His hand was pitch black. "I will die anyway. Don't let my life go to waste.."

Tears welled up in the silver-haired male's eyes, yet he didn't allow himself to cry. Not in front of the others. His voice cracked in hysteria, he placed both of his hands on the blonde's shoulders and shook his head. "T-There has to be another way! There has to! I can't kill you..."

Alvin shook his head. It was too painful to watch that. He wanted to help, but he didn't know how. He knew that he was about to say something stupid and wanted to prevent that, but his lips moved anyway, betraying him. "It's your brother's wish, Ludger.."

Before he could finish, Leia cut him off, also close to crying. "It's not that simple!" She sounded angry, but in fact she was just as desperate as all of them were.

"I know that, damnit!", Alvin cursed at his own helplessness. He wanted to do something. Hell, if there only was more time...

Ludger's eyes shifted from his friends to his brother, then back to his friends. He was honestly thinking if he should kill his friends and escape with Julius. And yet, something about the way Jude, Leia and Alvin looked made him decide against that. He realized that they really were just as helpless as he was himself. He bit his cheek painfully and let go of Julius, standing up and pulling his double blades out.

"So you have decided. Allow me to be a good brother one last time. Allow me to test whether you're ready for the gruesomeness of Origin's trial.", the taller of the two called out and pulled his own blades out, lunging at his brother.

They have fought fierce, neither of the two holding back despite the fact they cherished each other so much. Or maybe that was exactly because the two brothers loved each other that they couldn't allow themselves to hold back in a battle of life and death. The rest of Ludger's group couldn't do anything but stand by and watch as Ludger swiftly switched between his pistols, blades and the sledgehammer to inflict damage on his brother and exploit his weak points. Julius, in response, unleashed his Mystic Arte on his brother just to be met with Ludger transforming into his Chromatus, miraculously surviving the attack. The older of the two didn't hesitate to transform as well, his Chromatus was already one level higher than Ludger's.

"If your resolve isn't strong enough, you'll never awaken the full Chromatus and you won't pass the trial!", the blonde hissed out as their lances met, their faces just inches apart. He unleashed his Mystic Arte at his brother, already sure that this would damage Ludger badly. It didn't though.

As if reacting to that, Ludger let out a vicious cry and pushed his brother back with ease, his Chromatus changing, covering more of his body with the armor-like gold and black surface as he used his own Mystic Arte, making Julius smile proudly. He had raised Ludger good and it made him feel like he wasn't that much of a bad brother, after all. He couldn't fight any more, his body was already almost fully gnawed away by the catalyst transformation.

"I see. So your resolve is already that strong...", the older brother smiled softly as Ludger's lance pierced right through his stomach. After that happened, the two disappeared, entering a fractured dimension.

Ludger found himself standing in the hallway that led to his apartment and gasped as he saw the door open. He quickly hid behind a pillar and watched the scenery. He saw a fractured version of himself exiting the door, it was his typical day before the train hijacking took place. He was late, probably due to oversleeping and then due to spending a few minutes longer on cooking breakfast for Julius so that the tomato omelette would be perfect. Of course, he wouldn't leave without promising his brother pasta margherita for dinner. After his other self left, he headed to the apartment Julius just disappeared into. After entering the all too familiar key code at the door, he headed in.

"What's wrong, Ludger, did you forget something? You really are an airhead.", the blond smiled at him as he said that.

That gentle smile, those familiar words. He would have to destroy them forever. Ludger lowered his head and clenched his fists to hold his tears back. He couldn't falter now. Julius seemed to understand the situation immediately.

"I see how it is..too bad, I would have liked to eat pasta margheritta one last time..", he said in a half-joking way, putting his newspaper aside and standing up to give Ludger full access for killing him a second time, to destroy his dream world.

Of course Ludger didn't want to do that, hell, he would have even stayed in this fractured dimension forever, but as soon as he took a step closer to his brother, his Chromatus reacted to him as the catalyst of the dimension and his lance pierced through the stomach of the taller one. Unlike other catalysts, Julius didn't shatter into million pieces immediately, instead he slowly bled out, like a normal human. The sight of his brother's blood made the silverette finally break. He allowed tears to fall from his eyes and soft sobs escaped his lips. He kept his head lowered, ashamed of showing that pathetic face to Julius.

"Ludger. Don't cry..", the taller one put a hand to his brother's cheek, smiling weakly. "Sometimes it's not too bad being pushed around by your little brother. That's something...I learned..from you."

After he said that, he started humming the hymn of proof, yet this time it sounded feeble as Julius passed away. Just before he died, Ludger remembered all the good moments they had. The moment he found Rollo and Julius came looking for him, the way Julius would hum him a lullaby as he was younger..the time he tried to teach Julius how to cook, the last memory being Julius' sleeping face.

_Make it stop...I don't want you to sleep forever...please, brother, open your eyes.._

As he snapped to reality, he saw the blond lay limp in his arms before the dimension shattered around him. He quickly wiped away his tears and put on a blank mask. He couldn't drag his friends down with this. He needed to get back to Trigleph as soon as he was back, he needed some time alone...

As soon as he was back in the prime dimension, he found himself standing next to a long trail that started at the Rieze-Haven and went all the way up to Canaan. He looked down into his hands as he realized he held something in both of them. What he saw was Julius' broken watch in one hand and Julius' dual blades in his other one. He held the silver watch to his heart and smiled feebly. "I will never forget you, brother.", he whispered so quietly that nobody of his friends would hear. Most of his friends proved to be really compassionate, with only the exception of Milla and Gaius, who told him they should hurry onward. He didn't blame the two though. Gaius was a king and had to return to his duties as soon as Origin was taken care of and Milla had already said that she doesn't have much time left due to her physical form using a lot of mana.

Yet, in the end everyone agreed that it would be better to let the agent rest a little, returning to the hotel in the Rieze-haven, leaving Ludger to his thoughts. Alvin would have nothing of _abandoning_ the agent like that though. So instead of leaving Ludger to his depression and grief, the merchant decided that it would be better to have him accompany him, Balan, Leia and Yurgen. He waited until all the others were gone before he approached Ludger.

"Hey. Ludger.", the taller male rubbed the back of his head as he looked for the right words. "I know that's not the best time to ask that, but Balan wants to go to the bar in Duval since Yurgen and I are working together again..I wanted to ask you to come with me...after all, I wouldn't have achieved any of that without you.."

The silverette opened his mouth, then closed it. He was considering to decline the offer, since as Alvin said himself, that wasn't really the right time. He actually wanted to be alone right then, but he also didn't want to seem rude, so he decided to opt out with a half-lie. "I still got a debt to repay to Nova..I can't spend too much money.."

Having foreseen something like that, the merchant hummed. "You forgot who you're talking to, huh? I'll pay for you. So, will you come along or not?"

Reluctantly, the agent nodded and let Alvin drag him into the bar. The only minor in their group was Leia, who settled on drinking juice while everyone else had beer. Alvin turned to Ludger as he noticed that he didn't yet have a drink."So, what will you drink?"

For a moment, the shorter one considered ordering tomato juice, but bit his tongue and shook his head. "I'll have what you're having, Alvin.", he simply replied. Tomato juice wouldn't taste the same without Julius nearby, without him teasing Ludger about how he buttered his brother up with tomatoes and how it always worked.

"That a boy. I see why we get along so well.", the brunette winked at him and waited until the waiter brought Ludger his drink. "Cheers!"

Ludger wasn't an experienced drinker. Mostly because Julius always told him not to drink alcohol with anyone else than him since drinking too much mostly ended up badly. Not that Ludger had any friends up until now either. Thus, after about three beers he started to feel drowsy and leaned on the ex-mercenary's shoulder. "Alvin...let's go home..", he muttered as his turquoise eyes searched for contact with hazel ones.

They were lucky that everyone else had already went home. Balan had a meeting with the investors for Spyrite-research the next day, Leia had to work on an article that was due in two days and Yurgen had a pregnant wife at home, so he was the first to leave.

"Geez, you really don't take booze very well, do you?", Alvin had to smile a little since Ludger finally relaxed. "Let's get you to Trigleph before we miss the last train."

After paying the drinks for him and Ludger, the merchant led his tipsy friend to the train. It was a wonder that Ludger didn't fall asleep on the train since he kept his head on Alvin's shoulder for the whole ride. Other than that, the ride was short and uneventful since Duval and Trigleph were only one station apart. Only as they exited the Trigleph train station, Ludger spoke again. He pulled on the brunette's sleeve to stop him from walking further and to make him look into his eyes again.

"Alvin..Can you stay in my apartment for the night?", he asked with the same puppy eyes that nobody could resist. Alvin was no exception, he fell right for the cute, sparkling turquoise eyes staring at him in a pleading manner.

Usually, he would have made a sarcastic remark before accepting, but today was different. Today he was determined to show that he actually cared for Ludger and that he was there for him, so he agreed immediately. A smile appeared on the shorter male's lips and a soft, whispered 'Thank you' that followed soon after made Alvin's heart skip a beat. Ludger was being really sweet.

Despite his tipsy state, Ludger made a straight walk home and seemed pretty normal otherwise as well, with the only exception that he was more clingy than usually. That didn't bother Alvin. Actually, he was quite happy that the agent knew his limits and was still more open after the few beers he had. They arrived back at the apartment quickly and the silver-haired male pointed to his bedroom the instant the door opened.

"You can use my bed, Alvin. I'll sleep on the couch.", he said absent mindedly and went over to the couch, sitting in the spot Julius would usually sit in as he read his newspaper. Rollo approached him and crawled onto his lap almost instantly, earning a smile from Ludger.

Alvin chuckled a bit "Are you sure? I don't have a problem with crashing the couch, you know?"

The turquoise-eyed male looked up at his friend and shook his head. He knew that Alvin was just being considerate and he appreciated it. "You see, if I leave this couch, Rollo will be very disappointed."

It was a joke, yet the cat gave a satisfied mewl. Alvin shrugged and shook his head with a small smile. "Alright then, there's no helping it. Good night, you two."

With that said, the ex-mercenary disappeared into Ludger's room and the agent sighed, lifting Rollo up and cuddling him. "Don't worry, Rollo. I'll have more time for you soon." He promised so to the cat before setting him back down. As soon as he did though, the cat jumped down from the couch and walked out through the cat door for his midnight stroll. Cats were selfish creatures, after all.

Being left alone, Ludger suddenly felt cold. He wanted to go to his room and fetch his spare blanket, but he didn't want to disturb Alvin. He knew that he already demanded too much from the merchant. Instead of doing that, he went over to the laundry bin and pulled out the first coat he had found, with which he had covered himself before drifting off to sleep. The scent of his brother enveloped him and lulled him into sleep. He could swear he still felt a soothing hand of his brother in his hair and heard the soft lullaby being hummed to him. He wasn't able to hold back his emotions then.

"Julius...", he whispered, clinging to his brother's coat and letting a tear roll down his cheek, and another. And another.

Forgetting about his friend next door, the agent sobbed and cried freely soon, behind his closed eyelids all the memories had played out so vividly. "Julius", he whispered again. "Julius" His voice became slightly louder, as if calling his brother's name would bring him back. As if this name was a spell to help him be strong again...He started whimpering from the amount of tears he had shed, his breathing was ragged and he was close to falling back into hysteria.

_Please come back, Julius..._

In the agent's room, Alvin had laid in bed, not finding any rest. His mind was racing, his heart was pounding hard. He just wanted to help Ludger, to protect him, to make him smile again...

_Julius..._

He heard a soft call next door, followed by equally soft sobs. He quietly crept up to the door, pressing his ear against it. He could now clearly hear Ludger cry and call out to his dead brother, he could hear every so little sound he made. The way he wailed his deceased brother's name, the way he shifted on the couch to find some comfort, the soft sobs...

It broke Alvin's heart.

If he would ignore the crying and go back to bed, pretend that nothing happened...he knew that it wouldn't change anything in their relationship. He knew that if he chose to do that, he would hate himself for the rest of his life for letting Ludger crumble down like that and not doing anything. That is why he decided against that option. He quietly opened the door and approached Ludger in the dark living room.

"Ludger", he softly called out and sat on the edge of the couch, next to his beloved silverette.

The moment he did call out his name, Ludger looked up at him like a deer caught in the headlights, as if crying was some sort of crime and Alvin was an officer about to arrest him. The lips of the younger male quivered for a second before he let out a hysteric, shaky laugh. "Sorry.. I don't know what had gotten into me.."

Ludger tried to wipe away his tears, but more and more kept coming. They wouldn't stop and the agent wouldn't stop apologizing.

_Sorry, Alvin. Sorry, sorry.. I'm sorry.._

That chant didn't end until Alvin finally wrapped his strong arms around the slender waist and pulled Ludger close. That was when the turquoise eyes widened before closing again, Ludger's hands clinging to the merchant's red shirt as his tears stained the fabric of it.

"Alvin...I miss my brother.", he whispered close to the ex-mercenary's ear while literally crying on his shoulder. He allowed Alvin to soothingly stroke his back with his big, warm hands and stroke his tangled silver hair in almost the same way that Julius did. His crying slowly stopped under the gentle touches and the sweet, soothing whispering of Alvin's husky, deep voice. It was so unlike the Alvin that everyone else had known. It wasn't the mean bully that always teased Teepo. It wasn't the businessman that fooled everyone to increase his profit. This was the sweet, gentle, _loving_ Alvin that only a selected few had ever seen before.

"Alvin...thank you.", the agent looked up at the taller male, his eyes were still glassy, but he stopped crying. He didn't make any attempts to back away, still keeping the embrace with the merchant. Their bodies were so close and the face of the silverette was so cute with those glassy eyes, the pink blush that spread over his cheeks and his lips that were red and swollen from all the times he bit them to keep his tears in.

Alvin was tempted to use the weakened state Ludger was in, to kiss him, to exploit every weakness and to exploit the longing for someone to fill the big hole that was created by Julius' death. And yet, the brunette didn't do so. He knew that he would hate himself for doing so. But he did exploit that a little bit nonetheless.

"I don't think you should be sleeping alone tonight. Let's go to your room, your bed is big enough for both of us.", he offered. He didn't want Ludger to have another breakdown like that and it would certainly come if he cuddled with Julius' coat like that.

Still in a haze, the agent nodded, blushing a little more and muttering. "Just...Just keep that a secret from the others. Crying in front of someone is so embarrassing..."

Without further ado, Alvin nodded and picked Ludger up with ease, carrying him into his bedroom. He noticed that the agent was slightly pouting at that and he could see what Ludger was about to say. He knew that the silverette hated to be treated like a child, but he shook his head before the young Kresnik could even get a word out.

"I'm just taking care of you. It doesn't mean I think of you as a child. Hell, you are more mature than I am at times.", he said that with a smile and laid the shorter male down onto the bed. Before he could pull back, Ludger grabbed his shirt and held him in place.

"Can you...read my thoughts?", the agent's eyes were wide with wonder and he tried to find an answer in that intense, warm, chocolate brown color of the ex-mercenary's eyes.

Instantly, a familiar smirk appeared on Alvin's lips and he kissed Ludger's forehead teasingly before lying back next to the silverette. "Maybe I can? What would you do if that was the case?"

The silverette beamed with pure interest. "You can? Then again, we have been linked up in battle for so long. It's a wonder I haven't gotten the ability to read your thoughts yet." He finally realized that Alvin was joking from the way he was grinning, so he decided to let the matter rest. Thanks to the brunette he was able to smile again. "Thank you, Alvin. And good night.", he whispered softly, closing his eyes and relaxing against his pillow. Since they only had one pillow, the silverette was resting his head close to the ex-mercenary's chest. Despite barely touching, their bodies shared their warmth, so even after Alvin stole the blanket from the agent somewhere during the night, Ludger didn't freeze, keeping warm by pressing closer to the well-built body of the brunette.

Ludger woke up upon Rollo's scratching on his bedroom door. He had a slight headache, so it took him a moment until he opened his eyes. The smell of cologne lingered in his nose and he felt a comforting warmth, a feeling of safety washing over him. It took him a moment until he realized that the comforting warmth was Alvin. He was resting his head on the taller male's chest, cuddled up to him, while Alvin's muscular arm was draped around his waist. Their legs were tangled in a way that it was impossible for the silverette to get up without waking his friend up. The blanket was long forgotten, laying rumpled on the floor.

Ludger felt blood rush to his face, tainting his cheeks the darkest shade of red. He had never been that intimate with anyone except Julius. He never hugged anyone else than Julius, he never shared a bed with anyone else than Julius...and he most certainly didn't let anyone else kiss his forehead or see his tears. "Alvin.", he called out softly as if to test whether the brunette was really asleep or just pretending for the sake of warmth and laziness.

A low grumble of disapproval was heard as the salesman turned so that he could pull Ludger close and hold him with both of his arms. The agent's face was now fully buried in his chest and the silverette let out a cute surprised squeak at that. "A-Alvin!", he called out a bit louder, with more protest in his voice. He was embarrassed, but he knew he couldn't compete with Alvin on pure physical strength despite being capable of easily taking him down in a combat (as he found out during their training). All he could do was tilt his head to look at the former mercenary with his lips pursed, looking like a helpless puppy again. "Please let me go.", he finally managed to say as his friend had shown no reaction.

Finally, the brunette reacted and opened his hazel eyes just to be met with that puppy look of Ludger's. "I wouldn't mind waking up to that face every day.", he said truthfully, but the way he had to laugh at the cute face made the agent think that Alvin was joking and teasing him, as usual.

"D-Don't tease me!", he quickly protested before changing his priority and averting his gaze. "And more importantly...let go of me."

Noticing how flustered Ludger was, Alvin had to smirk. He had achieved his goal for that day, so he finally let go of the shorter male. He tried not to sound serious as he looked down at the agent again. "Don't like being touched by me, eh?"

Instantly, the silver-haired male shook his head a little too quickly. "No, no! It's not because of you." His cheeks got redder and he lowered his gaze once more, ashamed. "Don't tell the others...I've never had any physical contact to anyone else than Julius. I only ever hugged him, shared my bed with him when I was having a nightmare..."

He stood up and patted his own cheeks to stop thinking about his brother's death. He needed to move forward. Julius wouldn't stand seeing him like that, so he should stay strong. "We need to go to Canaan today. Julius gave us this opportunity and we shouldn't waste it. I don't know how much longer the soul bridge will stay intact...after all, unlike Rieze-Maxians we don't have the power to channel spirits.", he said mostly to himself before turning around to face Alvin and smile at him brightly. "Thank you so much, Alvin. Is there anything special you want for breakfast? I'll cook for you."

The two of them had soba omelette as requested by Alvin and then Ludger contacted Jude via GHS to tell him to gather everyone at the Rieze-Haven in Marksburg. "We should go there soon too, Alvin.", he said with a smile and put on his tie, earning a disapproving sound from Alvin.

"Ludger. I have thought long about giving you that gift, but now the time seems appropriate. Come with me, will you?"

The agent looked baffled, but nodded nonetheless. "A gift? It's not my birthday yet though."

"Come on, it's just a little something for you from me, as an acknowledgement for all the things you have done for us...for me.", the brunette winked and took Ludger's hand before he could protest, pulling him along to Balan's apartment where he had put the clothing he bought for Ludger. He handed the package to the agent as soon as they entered. "Here you go, I hope you like it."

"This is...clothing? It looks very expensive...", Ludger said as he unwrapped the package and took out the red shirt which almost matched Alvin's. "I've never worn such clothes..." He was stunned, but didn't hesitate to take the clothing and turn to Alvin. "Where's the bathroom? I'll change into these."

"Are you ashamed of showing your body to me? We're both men, there is nothing I don't know, anyway.", Alvin shrugged, but pointed to the bathroom nonetheless. "There it is, you can change your clothes there if you are too shy about your body."

Ludger fell for the ex-mercenary's trap and pouted a little before undressing right in front of the brunette. Despite having a slim body, he had quite a lot of muscle. His skin looked white in the dim light of the room, tempting the ex-mercenary to let his gaze wander all over the skin but before Alvin could stare too much at his body, Ludger covered it with the black pants and the red shirt. "Despite saying that there's nothing you haven't seen, you're staring quite a lot..", the silverette murmured in a shy tone as he put on a yellow tie that Alvin had also given to him as a present. Despite the fact that he had a completely new outfit to wear, Ludger still chose to keep the suspenders from his old outfit.

The taller of the two chuckled at that comment. "You just look really great in those clothes..", he covered up the actual reason he was staring by complementing the agent's looks. "I was right when I thought that red would suit your pale skintone very well."

Surprised by that confession, the silverette looked at his friend in surprise. "I never knew you are such a fashion expert, Alvin."

"Well, good looks are half of my charm, so I have to keep it that way.", the brunette winked and grinned slyly. "Let's go and take down Chronos with style, now shall we?"

The cheerful tone gave Ludger a new resolve and he nodded eagerly. "Let's go meet up with others."

Upon arrival, the two of them earned quite a few curious looks from the rest of the party, but nobody had yet said anything about the outfit Ludger was wearing. The agent cleared his throat to draw everyone's attention away from their matching outfits and to speak out clearly to his friends. "At first, I'd like all of you to know that I'm grateful that you have come with me such a long way and I am really happy that I have made such great friends. However, I also want you all to know that I wouldn't blame any of you for backing out now. Just as Milla had said, this is a task that might be deadly. I wouldn't blame any of you for backing out and enjoying your life, you all still have dreams and plans for the future, after all. With that said, I would like to proceed today at noon, right after I have made all the preparations considering the weaponry and the medicine supply. Please come back after you have made your decision and feel energized."

It wasn't usual for Ludger to show that strong, almost intimidating presence and it wasn't usual for him to talk as much as he did now, which only underlined the earnestness of the situation. Everyone nodded silently and went to the hotel to meet their decisions, only Alvin, Milla and Gaius stayed with the silverette, following him around as he upgraded their armor and weaponry and restocked on orange, apple, lemon and pineapple gels. Ludger was expecting Milla and Gaius but it quite surprised him that Alvin was determined to follow him and accompany him on that


	3. From Tearful Nights to the Future

Nobody had backed out of the last battle, everyone wanted to support Ludger for the sake of humanity and for the sake of Ludger himself. They didn't waste any time after the silverette had handed them their weapons and armor, heading through the soul bridge to Canaan. If it weren't for the miasma, Ludger would have brought all of his friends with him to fight Chronos, but he was unable to. After choosing Alvin, Elize and Leia to accompany him to fight Chronos, they proceeded rather quickly despite all the traps set for them. They had to push onward as fast as they could since they knew it was hard for Milla to have the four great Spirits protect them from the poisonous miasma the whole time, especially to do so from afar. Thus, despite all the worried calls from his friends whenever he did something reckless to protect them, Ludger pushed onward until they finally arrived at the place where the last battle of the trial would be fought.

Despite being well prepared, it took all of Ludger's power to fight Chronos and Bisley one right after the other. Even with Leia's and Elize's healing skills, it was hard for the agent to stand straight as Origin was facing him and Elle and asked them for their wish. To be able to stand up straight, he had to prop himself up on his sledgehammer, his body threatening to give in. Before his body could relax even a little, his mind was already racing, contemplating what he would wish for. He took the pocket watch out, looking at it and then at Elle, who was about to become a catalyst, like Julius..

"I want all the fractured dimensions to disappear.", he finally spoke his wish with a heavy ache in his heart.

_What about Elle? Don't you care about her at all?_

As much as he cherished Elle, he couldn't let Julius' life to go to waste because of her. The fate of the world was his responsibility..Then Bisley's words echoed in his mind. He could become a catalyst. He could save Elle, still. "I could save her myself.", he murmured and held the watch firmly in his grip. If he would transform into his full Chromatus form, he would become a catalyst in no time and Elle would be saved...that was the solution to all their problems! However, just as he was about to do it, he heard Alvin's voice call out to him desperately.

"Ludger! Don't do anything stupid!", he begged. He didn't want to lose Ludger. He couldn't stand watching his beloved one die. Not once more, not after Presa had told him to stay where his heart has led him. Not after Presa had died before his eyes..

Ludger turned his head and smiled sadly. "That's the only way to save Elle...for me to become a catalyst.", he said to the brunette and was about to turn away again, but Alvin would have none of it.

"Ludger, please..please, don't do that. I..", his usually calm voice cracked. He finally had the strength to tell his feelings to the silverette. "I love you, Ludger! Please...don't disappear. Don't die."

Shocked by the confession, everyone was staring at Alvin with their eyes wide open, but nobody dared to say anything to support either of the decisions. Ludger was in on it alone..

Ludger's turquoise eyes widened as well and his chest felt warm. He would be able to experience love if he stayed alive. He looked at Elle, then back at Alvin, torn between the two. Then he felt Elle tug his sleeve and looked at her.

"It's okay, Ludger. As long as you don't disappear, I will be happy.", she said in a sweet voice before taking a step forward. "Please, Origin. Make the fractured dimensions disappear.", she repeated for Origin in a determined voice.

"Are you okay with this?", the spirit seemed worried about the girl sacrificing herself. After all, he loved humans, no matter how foolish they were at times.

But the blonde didn't back down. "Yes. Anything to keep Ludger from vanishing forever. That's the last thing I want to happen.."

"Very well. Then I will grant your wish. All fractured dimensions shall be eliminated."

Ludger watched as the spirit made Elle's wish come true before biting his lower lip. He felt like he had failed. He failed to protect his daughter, no matter fake or not. He blamed himself for hesitating.

"Hey. Ludger, don't look so sad.", the girl smiled at him the best she could under the excruciating pain of becoming a catalyst. It made the agent's heart ache even more. Everyone around him was so strong..he was the only one who was selfish and weak. Elle would have had a full lifetime ahead of her. But he was the one to take it away from her.

The spirits have said something about sealing away the miasma, something about the trial not ending yet...but Ludger couldn't listen. He had just lost the very last part of his family, he realized.

_Goodbye, Ludger_.

This echoed in his mind on repeat, his head was pounding and it was taking everything he had not to break down again. Seeing that, the ex-mercenary approached him and wrapped his arms around the shorter male's shoulders. Everything was silent as Ludger allowed himself to break down again, his quiet sobs echoing in the hall of judgement as pale fists gripped the soft fabric of Alvin's shirt.

"We should head back and get some rest. I believe it's hard on all of us...Elle was a friend to us all.", Jude lowered his head as he saw the agent crumble down like that. It wasn't a sight he had ever encountered, so he didn't quite know how to deal with it. Ludger was like a big brother to him, always cheering him up when he was feeling down...and he failed to return that favor, only making him cry more. He immediately bit his tongue.

Nobody blamed Ludger for any of his actions, nor did they blame Alvin for stopping Ludger from sacrificing himself. They all knew they had to move forward, they all knew that between Ludger and Elle, they liked Ludger more. The silverette was always there to help all of them, after all.

"Let's go back. Muzét and I need to return to the spirit realm before my physical form disappears.", Milla said, deciding that it was better for Ludger to get all the bad news at once instead of calming down and then being sad again.

Alvin led out the silverette, supporting him in his walk, since Ludger wasn't in a state to be 100% cautious of where he was stepping due to his fatigue and his sadness. And knowing Chronos, the traps were still intact even though the miasma was clearing out, allowing them to breathe without getting poisoned. Nobody had spoken another word until they stood outside, in the haven of Rieze-Maxia in Marksburg.

"We should get you back home soon, Ludger..", Alvin was unsure of how to help his beloved one except for staying by his side.

"I'll be departing for Rieze-Maxia with the next ship. Forgive me, Ludger.", Gaius said, bowing slightly and earning a nod from the agent. "And please come to visit when you have time."

"I will. Take care of yourself.", Ludger said in the most encouraging tone he could muster.

Before leaving with Gaius, Rowen grinned at Ludger in a knowing manner. There was no way to fool the old royal tactician. "That's quite an...interesting outfit you have there, Ludger."

"Oh...yeah, Alvin bought it for me.", the agent admitted and blushed a bright pink color despite his grief. Rowen always knew everything.

The tactician chuckled lightly and nodded. "Hoho, I see how it is. Well then, Alvin. Please take good care of Ludger. I know you will."

Earning a nod from the salesman, the two left. Muzét and Milla had disappeared already, as if not to trouble the others with the fact that they would never meet again.

"Are you alright, Jude?", Leia asked at that, worried about her friend, but after earning a soft 'Yeah..' from Jude she calmed down and smiled. She knew that the whole situation was almost as bad for Jude as it was for Ludger. Even if Milla didn't die, she would disappear, watching over all of them from afar.

Before anyone could do or say anything else, Ludger's GHS rang. The silverette hesitated for a moment since he wasn't in the mood to hear either of the twin sister's nag at him because of either his loan payment or his work. As it wouldn't stop ringing, Alvin patted the silverette's back, encouraging him to pick up the phone.

"Vera here. We've confirmed your victory over Origin. Please return to Spirius HQ as soon as possible."

The remains of the group had also heard that and nodded eagerly. Elize seemed a bit intimidated by the way Spirius knew every single move they made, but was also determined to follow her friend. Despite the joy of victory, it was quite possible that Spirius would decide there was no need for Ludger anymore, so everyone decided to expect the worst (with Spirius it was always the right thing to do) and to follow their friend to be there to support him if he needed.

"Let's go and see what they have to say now!", Teepo spoke out for her, flying in circles around all of them.

Ludger finally smiled again at Teepo's cuteness and nodded, leading the way to the HQ building. As soon as they arrived at the entrance, everyone was saluting Ludger and Vera had also bowed to him, causing the silverette to become even more confused.

"Congratulations on your victory. We have confirmed former president Bakur's death as well as your success on eliminating the fractured dimensions. From today on, you have the title Victor, for being the most powerful bearer of the Chromatus." she paused to allow the information to sink in for a moment. "Furthermore, you are now promoted to the CEO of the Spirius Corporation. This decision is valid as of now.", she announced.

Ludger stared at her, wide-eyed. He had no idea what the responsibilities of a CEO were and how he would handle those."The...CEO? But I.."

"Don't worry, president Kresnik. I shall assist you in your training. I am certain that you will fill Mr. Bakur's role perfectly.", Vera interrupted him, as if reading his thoughts.

Ludger's friends smiled happily. They were really glad that instead of saying that there would be no need for him to work for Spirius anymore, the agent got promoted and stabilized his job. The position Ludger was now in was the best-paid job in Elympios, so without a doubt, the agent wouldn't have to worry about any debts or his rent being to high.

Before Vera could proceed with lecturing the silverette about his duties and appointments, Alvin stepped in between of the two and stopped their chat."I'd like to let you continue, but you see, our friend Ludger is pretty exhausted. He needs some rest for the day after fighting such a fierce battle.", the brunette explained with a grin, earning a nod from the woman.

"I understand. Please forgive me for being inconsiderate.", she switched her position to be able to face the silver-haired male again. "Please wear your suit to work tomorrow, president Kresnik. You have a very important appointment with Chancellor Marcia."

Ludger nodded and turned around, walking out of the building with quick steps. As soon as he was out, he sighed in relief . It was all happening too fast, way too fast. He looked over to the others and earned a small smile from Jude.

"So you're the CEO now? That makes you and Gaius the two leading roles in the Elympios-Rieze-maxia peace treaties. Chancellor Marcia is a representative, but I hear that Spirius is pulling the strings in Elympios.", he said proudly. "I'm glad that you became the president of Spirius. After all, then I can be assured that nothing bad involving Spirius happens."

The silver-haired male sighed softly. "I am happy...somehow. But the price for this job was too high. Elle and Julius and Victor and the fractured Milla...everyone died to give me the opportunity of living this life."

"You deserved it.", Alvin interrupted, dissatisfied with the depressed thoughts Ludger was having. "Do you think any of them died only because of you? That was their own wish, to save the world. Also, that was their way of showing you their affection for the last time. Julius and Elle wanted you to live on, so don't complain."

Leia winked at the silverette and joked to make him brighten up. "Besides. I can now impress my editor by writing a full detailed report on the second most important person in Elympios. Since I have the permission from Gaius, I can make a scoop of a lifetime by writing an article about you both."

Elize nodded. "And I'm sure you'll change Elympios for the better with your position as the head of Spirius."

Realizing how pathetic he has been acting, he smiled in defeat and looked up to the blue sky. Elle, Julius and Milla...He hoped they would watch over him and make sure he didn't make anything stupid. Then he looked at his friends again and nodded. "Thank you all. I will keep on moving forward.", he reassured them all. He just needed some time to get up again.

Leia hummed curiously, in a slightly teasing way. A grin that was a mix of creepy and amused spread on her lips "Speaking of moving forward. What about you and Alvin?"

That's right. At the gate of judgement, Alvin stopped him from taking his own life by confessing his love...and yet Ludger still gave no answer to that. His cheeks stained a deep red color and he tried to find any fitting words. "I...I...", he stuttered before just clinging to Alvin's arm. "I think I love you too, Alvin."

"You...think?", the hazel eyes were wide and his eyebrows furrowed in confusion about such a vague answer. He didn't yet show anyone as much of his true self as he did to Ludger...usually he would be able to keep it together and say something in an Alvin-typical casanova style, such as 'I _know_ you soon will love me for sure.' But he just couldn't help but be honest with the agent.

Being an airhead, Ludger forgot about wanting to keep everything that happened between them a secret and turned to face Alvin straight on, sighing. "The way you held me when I cried, the way we cuddled in bed after waking up, the kiss on the forehead...and now the confession. Everything you do makes my chest feel all warm and my heart beat hard against it. Damn, I love you, Alvin!"

Ludger was a bit angry that the salesman has made him say it out loud like that, but it only amused Alvin more and caused him to wrap his arms around the slim waist of the agent. He was aware that Ludger wouldn't have ever said anything like that in public otherwise. While the two continued staring into each other's eyes, already closing in for a kiss, Leia cleared her throat, drawing their attention back to reality.

"Excuse mee?! Is there something you weren't telling us about?", she huffed, unamused by the fact that her friends were hiding something so important and Elize supported her despite being angry for another reason.

"Cuddling in bed? Crying on Alvin's shoulder? Why haven't you realized that you love him until now?", the green-haired girl clenched her fists and pouted angrily.

The young doctor just stood there, at a loss for words, and rubbed the back of his head, his amber eyes averted down onto the ground and a blush covering his cheeks. "I don't want to be mean, but could you please take this elsewhere? Seeing two of my friends kiss is making me uncomfortable."

Leia covered Jude's eyes with her hand and turned to Alvin, grinning mischievously. "Kiss him already! Jude just doesn't understand the beauty of men's love!"

Elize whimpered and looked at Leia, all of the sudden understanding what the older girl was playing at. She never knew that her friend liked this kind of romance novels. "Leiaaaa! Don't say strange things, you make me and Teepo uncomfortable too!"

Alvin chuckled. "I think Jude is just jealous. I get to date a sexy, kind, muscular, cute and successful man.", he teased before pressing his lips hard on Ludger's before the shorter one could pull away. Jude had managed to pry himself away from Leia's hand in order to protest against Alvin's words, just in time to witness the kiss.

"Al- Mhh!", the silverette wanted to say something in Jude's defence, embarrassed by everything the brunette had said, but as soon as he felt the slightly rough, yet loving lips on his own, he seemed to forget getting embarrassed over everything else except that. His heart pounded hard against his chest, threatening to jump out if the ex-mercenary would do anything to make it flutter more and Ludger was sure that Alvin could feel that due to their bodies being pressed against each other so tightly.

Jude stood there, unable to look away as if he had just seen something that was out of that world. His whole face was red upon witnessing such a display of public affection. Thinking that he could have ended up like that if he didn't show Alvin the cold shoulder, his heart stung a little, but he pushed that feeling away, disregarding it.

"Now _that's_ a scoop of a lifetime...not to be published, of course.", Leia grinned and blushed a little as the two men broke the kiss. She received a text message and instantly cursed. "Damn, talk about publishing! I forgot that today was the meeting with the chief editor! Well then, I have to be off asap! Alvin, Ludger, I sure hope you contact me via GHS regularly! Jude, we'll see each other no later than when I make an update report on Spyrite technology! And Elize, we gotta meet up for real soon! I wanna go shopping and do girly things again!"

And there she went, fast as the wind. The four of them stared after the reporter baffled and Alvin shook his head soon after. "That's our Leia. I hope she still makes it in time."

They stayed together for a while, talking about Leia and Ludger both being huge airheads, but Jude and Elize soon left too since Elize demanded from Jude to take her to Helioborg and to let her see the spirit fossils so that she could report at her school about all she has seen as soon as she returned to Rieze-maxia. Being left alone with Ludger, the salesman didn't know what to do. He wasn't a stranger to being in love, but he never loved anyone with such a complicated personality as that of the silverette. It's not that he disliked the fact Ludger was so silent, but not knowing what the agent wanted at the moment wasn't really helpful in fulfilling his wishes. Jude was always the one asking him for advice and Presa was a very dominant person in general, sometimes even intimidating. Ludger was neither of them. Before he could suggest anything, Ludger looked at him with a sweet look.

"Alvin. Couples go on d-dates, right? How about we go to Drellin and eat at a restaurant?", he asked with a blush, unsure of whether he even did the right thing. Despite his age of 20 he never was dating anyone before Alvin. The brunette looked at him in surprise, which Ludger misunderstood. "No good? I don't really know what couples do, sorry."

Realizing how he had discouraged the silverette, the taller of the two ran a hand through his long brown hair and grinned a bit. "You got it all right. But I would rather go grocery shopping together, eat your amazing cooking and then spend the rest of the evening cuddling in bed with you."

"You really are lazy, Alvin.", the shorter male chuckled before walking on ahead and letting his mind wander off to ways he could help Alvin out.

It never occurred to him before, but as the CEO of Spirius he would be able to invest the funds in things he believed in. Jude's Spyrite research would be completed faster, Alvin's supply of Elympios with fresh fruit from Rieze-Maxia would flourish and Elympios would become a greener, healthier and happier place. He happily squeezed his lover's hand at that thought.

"I'll cook us some Mabo-Curry for dinner and then we can just relax.", Ludger beamed up at Alvin and then stopped walking, stopping in the middle of the marketplace. Maybe...now that they were together, Alvin would move in with him, too.

"What are you thinking about? You are grinning more than Leia does. And that's a lot, especially for you.", he teased and looked down at the agent. It was so hard to read Ludger, but he was glad that he finally got to see a real happy smile on his lips.

"I..I'll tell you when we're home. It's pretty important.", the silverette explained and went onward to buy the ingredients for cooking. Of course, Alvin would have none of letting Ludger pay for the things he bought.

"You're the cook, so I'll take care of the ingredients.",the salesman explained, taking both bags in one hand while still holding the slender hand of the agent with the other.

He could hear the shorter male mutter something about not being a kid anymore and being able to take care of the shopping himself, but the brunette could only laugh at that. After they finally arrived at the apartment Ludger lived in, the silverette immediately changed into his pyjamas in order not to stain the clothes Alvin gave him with the curry sauce. He then went into the kitchen and started cooking while the salesman was watching the news...or at least acting like he did. In reality, the brunette couldn't take his eyes off of the silverette's back as he hummed and cooked happily, putting all his devotion into the dish.

"Alvin, if you want to stare, please do it less obviously. I feel uncomfortable being observed like a prey by you.", Ludger said without turning around. He could feel the gaze linger on his back.

Instead of denying that he was staring like any normal person would do, the brunette chuckled and stood up, approaching Ludger from behind and kissing the side of his neck. "I just can't take my eyes off of you. Maybe if you'd let me help you cook it would be different?"

"No. I've always cooked alone, so it's fine, really.", the agent smiled a little and shivered, his blush spreading from his cheeks to his neck. He had to be careful. If he got too distracted by the way Alvin had shown his affection, the food would burn for sure, so he carefully tilted his head a bit to escape the greedy lips. Amused by the reaction, the salesman kissed the same spot again before licking it and earned more and more of those delightful shivers.

"I-If you keep up, the food will taste gross. So stop that.", the silverette protested and stirred the sauce. However, the ex-mercenary wouldn't stop assaulting the pale neck with his lips and drawing out small gasps and shivers, soon earning a playful, light hit on the head with a wooden spoon.

"Alvin. What you're doing isn't unpleasant, but please wait until we're done eating. Then you can do as you please. Alright?", he said with a pout, immediately earning a nod from the brunette.

Alvin wasn't going to pass on an opportunity he was given. He knew that the agent was just confused and said that without thinking, but Alvin was going to exploit the hell out of what he said. "So I can still stare at you? I mean, you won't let me cook and won't let me distract you while you're cooking.."

The agent was quiet at that one and just rubbed the spot on his neck Alvin had been kissing, so the brunette took that as a yes and continued watching his beloved silver-haired cook. Soon the meal was ready and put onto two plates. Rollo came up to Ludger and reminded him that he was hungry too though, so the shorter male couldn't eat before he gave the cat some of the Kitty Krisps that he loved so much, earning a content purr from the cat. After that, he sat down at the table and waited for Alvin to sit down too. As soon as the older male sat comfortably, Ludger put his feet on either side Alvin's, smiling cutely. "Now we can eat. I hope you like it, Alvin."

"I will, for sure. Your cooking is always amazing. Even though I only tried it once, Jude was always fawning over your cooking skills.", the brunette admitted, starting to eat slowly, but indeed, he was amazed by how good the cooking was and wolfed down the curry rather fast, the intense taste overwhelming him. He couldn't help but give off small content hums at how well the meal was cooked. "Whoa, that really hit the spot. You obviously know how to make a man happy, Ludger."

The paler one blushed again and shook his head. He wasn't used to being showered in so many compliments. "I just like to cook, it's all...Would...would you like to have seconds? There is still some curry left."

The salesman shook his head and grinned happily "I've had enough. If I eat more I'll feel sleepy."

That was a strange trait that Ludger discovered, but he didn't complain. He wanted to know everything about his lover. And that was no exception, even if it made him chuckle breathlessly as he ate his food. He wasn't as quick as Alvin, so it took him a while to finish. The brunette was kind enough to wash the dishes after he was done and Ludger helped him wipe the plates dry. It was really as if they already were a family. They ate together, laughed together, cleaned together and would also be sharing the same bed. The silverette finished drying the dishes and put the towel aside just to have two strong arms wrap around his waist and lift him up.

"A-Alvin!", he protested, but the brunette didn't stop until he reached the couch.

Only then Alvin sat down before pulling the agent onto his lap. "You said I could do as I pleased after we were done eating, did you forget that?" A flirty smirk appeared on the taller male's lips and he pressed his lips against those of Ludger's, this time softly and briefly despite the playful tone in his voice.

"Alvin..", the agent pouted again and wrapped his arms around the ex-mercenary's neck.

"Call me Alfred. Or Al. We're lovers now, so you should use my real name like everyone in my family does.", he explained in a whisper and kissed the silverette's jawline and his cheeks.

"A-Alfred..", the silverette said experimentally, liking the sound of it. "You have a beautiful name.", he admitted and this time he kissed the salesman on his own accord, feeling the brunette nip on his bottom lip after a while, he parted his lips slightly, letting the curious tongue in by doing so. That feeling was completely new to him, so he didn't know what to do at first. Yet he decided to imitate the movements of the older male's tongue, rubbing their tongues together. The feeling was so pleasant that he let out a soft groan into the kiss, one of his hands grabbing a fistful of the soft brown hair to keep his lover in place. It was all too much for Ludger since it was his first kiss, so soon he ran out of air and pulled back, panting heavily, unsure if he did everything right.

Amused, the brunette let out a hum. "Was that your first time kissing like that? You're quite sensitive about everything."

That was exactly what Julius had told him too, but he couldn't help that his body was sensitive. After all, it was almost completely untouched (except by Julius when they hugged). He blushed a little and nodded. "Not only kissing...You're my first lover, after all..", he confessed and shifted in Alvin's lap, looking aside shyly.

"I asked because you are a pretty good kisser already. But I like that, I will make sure that I'll be your last lover, as well.", the brunette chuckled a bit at the confession and followed with a confession of his own after wiping the saliva off of Ludger's soft lips with his thumb. "You know, I was pretty jealous every time you were affectionate with everyone who isn't me. But now, I can only laugh about that. Since now I know I was able to win your heart in the end." Realizing how cheesy and unlike him it sounded, he added "And you know what I said. 'I always get my prey.'" But instead of 'pretty ladies', he got himself a sexy man, which he didn't complain about, of course. "That said, now that I have my prey, I won't let it go." As if to show that he was serious about Ludger being his prey, he sank his teeth into the soft, pale skin in the area between his neck and shoulder, leaving an almost skin-breaking bite mark, drawing a soft, surprised moan from the agent.

"Al...you're really touchy today...", Ludger said with a chuckle, repeating his brother's words. "But I don't dislike it."

The taller male smirked against the wet skin at the words and the way Ludger's pyjama stretched over his shoulder, whispering against the skin as if he was afraid someone else might hear what they talked about. "Well, Ludger? You wanted to tell me what had made you so happy back at the marketplace, did you forget?"

"O-Oh, right!", the silverette seemed to have forgotten. Then he cupped the cheeks of his lover and made him look up at him, apatite meeting quartz. "Alfred...Since this is all over and we can finally live our lives for ourselves...I would like you to move in with me. It doesn't have to happen immediately, but after a while..you know...", his voice grew quieter and quieter as he realized how shocked Alvin seemed by the suggestion. The last part was nothing but a whisper. "Unless you don't want to, that's also fine."

The brunette's lips curved into a gentle smile. "It's not like that at all. You just keep surprising me with how you are able to take the lead in such things despite usually being so timid.", he pulled Ludger down for a gentle, loving kiss and pressed their foreheads together. "I'd love to move in with you, as long as you're fine with it."

The younger male smiled softly and hummed in approval. "The thought of having someone waiting at home is a pretty nice one, don't you agree? Maybe in my current position I won't be having as much free time as before, so it's even more important that the both of us live together. Then again, if your business will flourish, you won't be home as much as well, will you?"

"I doubt I'll become _that _successful, Ludger.", Alvin chuckled and shook his head. "I'm just happy that I can prove that Elympios and Rieze-maxia _can _work together."

Ludger suddenly grinned in a way Alvin never saw before. His eyes were tempting, as if knowing something Alvin didn't and his lips were curved in a proud smile, brimming with confidence. "What if I told you I could tweak a little something to make the Skylark Exchange bow down to you and Yurgen? After all, the main investor of Skylark is the Spirius corporation."

That eyes were so tempting that the brunette had to swallow hard. He didn't know that the puppy-eyed silverette was capable of such a look. Nonetheless, he quickly regained his composure and sighed with a smile on his lips "Isn't that too early to talk about all that? I don't want to do anything else than cuddle and leave all talk about work behind. And considering the time, we should go to sleep soon. So forget everything but me, alright?"

After saying that, the brunette slid one of his hands up the agent's back, causing the foreign face to disappear and the usual puppy eyes to take it's place. Ludger arched his back at the touch and, keeping his gaze locked with that of the brunette, he stroked the ex-mercenary's broad shoulders experimentally in response, his thin fingers inching towards the muscular chest. His bashfulness was still restraining Alvin from going any further than touching his clothed body and that was good that way for both of them. After all, their relationship just started and the agent was still inexperienced with all of these things, so Alvin didn't want to rush things more than he had to.

"Alfred, we shouldn't do anything more than...haah..", the silverette had to gasp as the big hands have found a sensitive spot on his chest. His hand immediately gripped the wrist of the brunette and his gaze told the older male that they had to stop at that unless they were to let their clothing fall.

Alvin chuckled. "You get aroused really quickly. I wonder if it's just because of me or if a little touch is all you need to get in the mood." He wasn't accusing Ludger of anything, but he just wanted to see him at a loss for words. "Anyway...if we are to stop here, we should get ready to sleep and go cuddle in bed instead."

Agreeing to that plan, the silverette slowly got up from his lover's lap, his legs were slightly shaking at the experience, but he covered it up by kissing Alvin before grinning like a kid and running into the bathroom to brush his teeth. Alvin followed close with a happy smile. Upon arrival, the agent hummed. "Al, do you mind using my toothbrush for today? I will use Julius'."

"Oh? My toothbrush is at Balan's, so I could get it. But I don't mind using yours."

Not letting the ex-mercenary get away, Ludger gave him a turquoise brush with a black cat on it's handle, taking the blue one for himself. The design of the toothbrush had amused Alvin so much that he had to laugh.

"Sometimes I have to question your age, Ludger. This time I have to ask if you are really 20 already. But then again, you are a cute 20-year-old. So I guess that fits.", he commented and let the shorter male put some toothpaste on the brush with a pout. That made Alvin laugh even more. "I'm so sorry, but you are just adorable. Especially when you pout or blush, so I'm determined to make you do that more often.", he winked at his lover who just blushed and turned his full attention to brushing his own teeth with his brother's brush, trying to ignore the comments about his cuteness.

After the both had their teeth clean, Ludger went to his bedroom and prepared the bed for them both. The next time he looked at the salesman he found him standing in his boxers only and almost fell backwards, but managed to hold himself up, his gaze roaming over the tan skin and taking in the sight of the well built body. It was bearing a few scars that were standing out on the sun-kissed skin, but that didn't make the brunette any less attractive. His cheeks were a dark red color and the tips of his ears were too as he finally managed to look away from the taller male.

"You like what you see, eh?", the brunette teased and approached Ludger. "I don't wanna sleep in my casual shirt and I didn't bring my pyjamas with me, so you gotta bear with me sleeping in my boxers only."

"It...It's fine. You look really good, Al.", he confessed and laid down into the bed close to the wall, leaving enough space for the brunette to get in before he could cuddle up to him. He changed the topic so that his blush would subside. "I'm so happy that you fell in love with me.."

If it weren't for Alvin, he would be dead now. And who knew, if he would die, how much grief would that cause to others? Rowen had considered him a part of his family, Jude had always been very fond of him as well...Elize and Leia were also seeing him as a brother. But Alvin would probably take the biggest damage from that decision.

"I'm so happy you saved me, even though I'm sad about Elle...", he whispered as he pressed his body close to that of the brunette as soon as the latter laid down. He wanted to say everything he felt, his heart was beating hard against his chest, urging him to speak up. "I realized I loved you ever since we were kids...", he confessed, causing the taller one to look at him in confusion. Before the older male could get anything past his lips though, Ludger pressed his index finger to them in order to keep Alvin quiet. "Remember what Julius has told us in one of the fractured dimensions? That he used to babysit you and Balan?"

A silent nod from Alvin had urged him to continue on. "Julius has shown me some pictures of you and Balan when I was 6...", he paused and blushed "I thought you were a girl back then, but ever since then I loved how you look."

A blush appeared on Alvin's cheeks and he cleared his throat. "Not exactly what I would like to hear, but I'm still glad we have this kind of connection."

"To be honest, I don't know much about my past. Maybe we have even met in person when I was a baby? I would like to find that photo album Julius had shown me as I was a kid again. But I guess it's inside of his room.", Ludger sighed. He wanted to go and see his brother's room again.

Alvin hummed at that. He heard some rumors around Spirius about Ludger being Bisley's son, but he wasn't sure if he even heard right. If that was the truth, there was no way they met...right? Thus, he just nodded, in order of not discouraging Ludger. He did feel a sudden urge to tease the shorter male though. "Let's see if we can find the key then. But for now, let's not forget to set the alarm for tomorrow. A meeting with the Chancellor is not something you would want to oversleep."

At that joke, Ludger smiled again and poked the taller male's side as a punishment. He had to admit that he was a huge airhead nonetheless, so he set his alarm clock and set it onto the nightstand before burying his face in Alvin's chest again. Then he declared with a yawn: "I'm tired. Fighting Chronos and Bisley was too much."

"Then let's sleep. You need your energy.", the taller male said in an understanding tone before adding in his usual flirty one: "But I won't let you sleep without a goodnight kiss."

With that said, he cupped the shorter male's face and tilted it upwards, pressing his own lips onto that of the silverette. He smiled happily into the kiss as he felt Ludger return it, but he didn't take the kiss any further than being a soft and loving one. "Good night, Ludger.", he whispered softly against the soft lips before pulling back.

"Good night to you too, Alfred.", the paler male said with a happy smile, closing his eyes. He felt that he wouldn't have any nightmares despite everything that happened. "Thank you..", he breathed out right before he drifted off to sleep.


End file.
